Authors: Staci Stallings
Keith grabbed the shovel from the fence. “Would you bring me that wheelbarrow?”
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Oh, sure.” Tanner did as instructed. “Listen, I hate to ask this, but Jamie’s been all over Pine Hill, and everybody she’s interviewed with wants a full-time employee if she’s going to work for the summer. She’s going to school the second summer session starting in July, and full-time’s just not going to work. I know there’s probably nothing, but she wanted me to ask if there was something she might do out here. Just to earn a little gas money.”
With a whack of the shovel, Keith knocked a whole chunk of the concrete loose. He scooped it up and dumped it in the wheelbarrow. “I don’t know, Tanner. The only thing I really know much about is the horses, and except when you and Ike are gone, we’ve pretty much got that covered.”
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Well, what about when we’re gone? I mean, surely there’s something…”
Keith gave another good whack and the pole wobbled. “Here. Hold this, or the whole fence is going to come down.”
Tanner went to the other side of the pole and put his hand on it. In one motion it was stabilized. Keith continued to whack the concrete and dig it out from around the pole.
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We’re going this weekend with Q-Main,” Tanner said. “Maybe she could come and feed the horses to give you a break. She’s really good with them, and if anything was major wrong, she could always call you.”
The concrete was now coming out in large chunks. Deeper and deeper into the hole Keith dug. “Well, I’m going to be out of pocket tomorrow. I’ve got another interview with Ferrell in Houston.” At that he cracked the shovel against the last few base chunks. He’d been trying to forget that interview. “So I guess you can bring her over and show her the ropes.”
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Really?”
Keith liked the hopeful sound in Tanner’s voice. He wished there was a millionth of that hope in his own. “Sure. Why not?”
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Ms. Montgomery, telephone,” Inez said, knocking on her door after the kids were in bed.
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Okay, thanks.” In one motion she was out of bed and had her robe on. Racing down the stairs, she willed herself not to trip. Through the kitchen, to the phone, she nearly slid right into the window before she got stopped. “Hello?”
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Maggie!”
Her heart slid through her. “Oh. Hi, Greg.”
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Hey. Listen I don’t have much time, but a bunch of us are going out tomorrow night, I was wondering if you wanted to go.”
NO!
screamed through her. She sat down on the chair in a heap. “I have to work.”
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Maggie, for Pete sakes. You’re their employee not their slave. Ask off. They can’t make you work 24/7.”
Some part of her said he was right, but the rest of her was saying she would rather be here, doing her job, than out with him and his friends. But she could hole up here and pass up every opportunity and then what? Get fired and have nothing? That didn’t sound like a great plan either. Besides Greg was a pretty respectable Plan B. “Okay. I’ll ask.”
Ten a.m. Houston, Texas. Noise. People. Cars. Chaos. Keith hated every second of it. He strode into Devonshire, Inc. knowing somehow he had to make this work—for Dallas, for his father, and for Mr. Henderson. Anything less than wowing Mr. Ferrell would be another giant nail in his coffin. He rolled his shoulders around, trying to get them to be comfortable in the dark business suit as he walked from the elevator to Mr. Lee Ferrell’s secretary.
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May I help you?” She didn’t sound happy nor even really alive, more like a machine.
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Umm, yes. I have a ten o’clock appointment with Mr. Ferrell.”
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One moment please.” She punched two buttons on the phone in front of her. “Your ten o’clock’s here, Mr. Ferrell. Yes, sir.” She punched the button again. “He’ll be right with you.”
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Umm, Patty Ann.” Maggie knocked softly on the secretary’s door. “May I speak with you?”
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Come on in, Ms. Montgomery.” At her desk, Patty Ann sat ramrod straight, her red suit jacket looking like it was still on a hanger across her shoulders. “Is there a problem?”
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Umm, no, Ma’am.” Maggie slid into the black upholstered chair and fought the shiver that always attacked her in this room. “I know it’s really short notice, and I’ll understand if you say no.” Actually, she was hoping Patty Ann would say no. That would solve a lot of problems. “But I got invited out for tonight, and well, I was wondering…”
Patty Ann sighed.
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Like I said, I know it’s short notice.”
Patty Ann narrowed her gaze on Maggie causing another shiver. “Only tonight?”
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Oh, yes, Ma’am, and I wouldn’t have to actually leave until seven or so, and I will be here tomorrow morning as usual.”
There was a long pause as Patty Ann surveyed her. “Very well. I’ll make arrangements.”
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Mr. Ayer,” Lee Ferrell, a short, little weasel of a man said from behind his enormous desk, “I do not have to tell you that I’m a very busy man, but in deference to your father-in-law, I have made an exception. So tell me what assets can you bring to Devonshire, Inc. that I’m not aware of?”
Keith had never felt so small. “I’m… hmm.” He cleared his throat. “As we talked about before I’ve got managerial experience.”
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Yes, with horses.” Mr. Ferrell’s sarcasm dripped from the words. “That’s impressive.”
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And I’ve got an MBA from A&M.”
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Yes, as every other applicant does. Mr. Henderson, however, hinted at a more… shall we say a more enticing incentive.”
Very slowly Keith shifted in his chair. “What incentive was that?”
Mr. Ferrell’s gaze fell to the desk. “Well, Devonshire and Ayer Industries have several intertwining interests as well as several competing interests. The power grid that a dovetailing of their mutual assets, a thinning of the competition between us, coupled with your future wife’s connections could be very shall we say convincing.”
It was literally as if the devil was sitting across that desk saying, “You can have all of this…” The problem was, this devil had leverage like none other.
The legalities alone were enough to crumple Keith’s knees, and he fought not to squirm under them. “Well, sir. I don’t know if…”
Ferrell lifted his chin, his eyes flashing with malevolence. “Don’t forget, your father-in-law has a lot riding on your answer. I am personally a large contributor to his bid for re-election. So please consider carefully.”
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I…” Keith’s gaze fell to his hands.
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We can negotiate your salary. I’m quite sure your contributions will be worth whatever you ask.”
A million dollar car and a house the size of Vermont flashed through his mind. This could be well be the answer to the question of how he would ever pay for Dallas’ dreams. However, his spirit was screaming that this was wrong, horribly, horribly wrong. To accept a job that he would hate forever, a job that would put his character, honor, and integrity in jeopardy, a job that would erase who he was from the planet forever? How much money was worth that?
His father would be furious, not to mention Dallas and Mr. Henderson. Then, like a sojourn in an oasis amidst the chaos, Keith’s mind traced its way to a little church, in a little pew, standing next to the only one in the world who made him never apologize for who he was. What she would say was a question that didn’t even need to be asked. His heart told him the answer. This wasn’t right, and it never would be—no matter how much they wanted to convince him that it was.
He stood slowly, knowing this decision would cause a chain reaction he couldn’t clearly see the end of. However, he knew this was a door he couldn’t afford to open. “I’m sorry for taking up your time, Mr. Ferrell, but I’m going to have to decline the offer.”
The little man’s eyes narrowed to the point that he was glaring at Keith. “Son, declining this position is not in your best interest. Your father-in-law…”
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Well, sir, I think accepting this position is not in my best interest, and if my father-in-law has any integrity at all, he will understand why I cannot accept your offer.” Keith held his hand across the desk, but Mr. Ferrell never moved. Finally he let his hand drop, and he walked to the door.
“
You are making a grave mistake, Mr. Ayer.”
At the door, he stopped, breathed through the thoughts of each fork in this particular road. The thought of taking the job coiled around him, sucking the air from his lungs so that suffocation seemed likely. Then he pulled in a full breath as the thought of opening this door that led to a thousand unknowns went through him. There was no challenge, no barrier to that breath. It was the only confirmation that he needed. With that, he opened the door, stepped out, and never looked back.
Maggie knew as well as anybody what today was. She and Keith had talked about it, under the tree on Sunday. Today he took another step away from her into his new life with Dallas. It hurt, but all day long, Maggie had prayed for Keith, that the right doors would be open to him so that he and Dallas could have the best start in life possible.
Just before dinner, Patty Ann showed up at the door to the playroom with a woman whose eyes were so dark, they were almost black. The rest of her was small—small shoulders, thin arms, hands with long, spindly fingers. Across the room, Peter took one look up and shrank back against the cabinets.
“
Ms. Montgomery, Mrs. Haga is here to relieve you for the evening.”
Maggie stood there, stunned into speechlessness. Mrs. Haga? Why had she not remembered this was a possibility? “Oh, I…”
Mrs. Haga stepped into the room. “Come, children. It’s time for dinner. We must get washed up.”
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Oh, they’ve already been…”
There was no hesitation as Mrs. Haga glared at Maggie. “They are children. No amount of washing will make them perfectly presentable, but we shall try. Come, children. Now!” She clapped her hands with the words, and Peter scrambled to his feet.
The look on his face ripped through Maggie with such force she could hardly breathe. “Mrs…” But they were already being marched across the hall.
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You are officially off-duty, Ms. Montgomery,” Patty Ann said, and with that, she closed the door.
Slowly Maggie sank to the window seat. How could she go back now? How could she tell them what that monster had done to Peter? The thought of leaving them here like this threatened to annihilate every sane thought she could manage to think. And yet, what was the alternative? Marching downstairs to take them back? Telling Patty Ann? Calling Greg to tell him no when he was probably already on his way?
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Oh, God,” she prayed softly. “They are just babies. Please protect them.”
Dallas made the connection on Keith’s cell phone ten minutes before he got back home. He had stopped at Wal-Mart for supplies, and something about just walking and thinking had kept him there far longer than he should have stayed. It was almost seven when he got to the last turn before the gate. He’d even decided against going to the stables. Surely Tanner and Ike and Jamie had been able to handle everything.
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So, how did it go?” Dallas asked in anxious excitement.
The first hurdle. “Well, he made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.”
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Fabulous!” Dallas squealed. “Tell me all about it. I want the details.”
He was far more casual than he ever thought he could be. “Well, there’s only one that really matters.”
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What’s that?” She had never sounded more excited.
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I refused it.”
That stopped her. “Refused it? Refused what?”
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The job. The offer. All of it.”
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Wh…?” She laughed, kind of. “Keith, that’s not funny.”
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I’m not laughing.”
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You… You told them no?”
He let out a solid breath. “Yes, Dallas. I told them no.”
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Are you out of your mind?” She was shrieking now, and Keith had to hold the cell phone away from his ear lest he go deaf. “Dad put his reputation on the line to get you another interview, and you turned them down!”
Well, her father had put someone’s reputation on the line, but it wasn’t his. Keith turned into the gate, and his heart slammed into his ribcage. There, sitting at the base of the mansion’s steps sat Greg’s little silver sports car. For one reckless moment, Keith thought about stopping, but instead he gunned it to get behind the trees before they came out. Seeing them, together, would’ve been more than he could take.
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I cannot believe this! How stupid can you possibly be? That was the job of a lifetime! What were you thinking? You couldn’t have been thinking. You couldn’t have! You turned down an offer that would have set us for life!” She was still shrieking when he turned the pickup into his own driveway and punched the garage door. She was shrieking, but he was no longer listening.
Keith’s mind went to where they were going on a Thursday night—the movies, a play, dinner, dancing? There wasn’t an option he liked. Just the thought of them together was enough to toss his sanity overboard into waves of helplessness and hurt.
“
Keith!” The incessant diatribe stopped. “Keith!”
His name brought him back as he put the pickup in park and got out. “What?”